EPTSnute has been seen opening with only 1 gas vs Terran for some time, I finally got to see his build order during IEM qualifiers yesterday (bo5 vs Fantasy and bo5 vs Cure) and so I wrote it down.
Keep in mind all of this is theorycrafting, I liked the build but it's completely not my style of play so I never really got to using it. Maybe if someone has a version with a roach bust.
Here's the build:
15 hatch
16 gas
15 pool
2 queen, 1 pair of lings
pull out of gas@100 and start metabolic boost
the part above could actually be any kind of "normal" gas opening, Snute has done the following strategy with 15h/15p/17g and 14g/14p into expansion as well. It's important to open with gas though (and stop mining once you can afford ling speed)
====================
Then there's a couple of benchmarks Snute hits:
-after first 2 injects, he lays down 2 tumors on his natural, then moves the queens back to injecting
@6min mark:
-resume gas mining
-3rd hatchery
-roach warren
-2 more queens to creep
Important things to note: the 3rd hatchery and roach warren timings are not set in stone, Snute sometimes delays the roach warren up to 7min (Deadwing vs Fantasy, when he also opened with 14/14 vs CC first) mark and sometimes does the same with 3rd (Inferno Pools vs Fantasy, he takes 3rd extremely late at 8:30). The queens appear to be started always around 6 minutes.
The notes I made are based mostly on his games on Overgrowth and Vaani.
As soon as the roach warren finishes, Snute makes 4 to 6 roaches (effectively spending all his gas, make no more roaches after that, unless needed) which together with his 2 creep queens allow him to push away any kind of hellion/reaper pressure and creep freely while also defending the relatively early 3rd base.
The 2nd timing important for this build is 8:30min mark:
-take all 5 remainng gases
-take your 4th
-make a macro hatchery
Again, the 4th and macro hatchery timings vary. On Vaani he took them ASAP, but on Overgrowth (facing banshee play) delayed 4th up until 9:30 and macro hatchery a bit more.
It leads to the point where at 9:30 Snute has:
-1/1, lair and baneling nest on the way
-fantastic creep spread
-almost 70 drones
-4th base complete or on the way
From here, he can comfortably transition to any standard ling/bane/muta play without any trouble in mid-game. It just so happens that Snute chooses early infestation pit with swam hosts that benefit from his creep spread (and especially from the layout of Vaani Research Station).
=======================
To get to that, Snute spends his gas in the following order:
-metabolic boost
-6 roaches
-1/1 upgrades
-lair
-baneling nest
-OL speed
Once again, investment in the early roaches and 2 queens allows him to start upgrades and lair before bane nest, just like when hellbats weren't a thing.
=======================
Scouting:
-many players nowadays try to incorporate OL pokes at around 6:30 minute mark to check if Terran is doing 3CC/banshee/or hellbat timing. Snute has none of that.
Again, because of the early roach warren and 4 queens, you are safe vs most (if not all) builds Terran can do.
Instead of suiciding overlords, Snute places 2 of them overlooking the gases of Terran and possible medivac drop paths. This way you make sure if it's cloak (if it's banshee) and can decide if you need spores or not (again, crucial with late lair).
=======================
And I guess that's it. Again I'm only a diamond and my ZvT recently dropped to below 50%, but Snute's build really is that simple. Get roaches out. Fend off anything while taking 3rd. Roll over terran with ridiculous economy.
However, the build has obvious flaws:
-all of your tech is really late: lair starts at 9:30 (when some builds get mutas out) which means late overseers to deal with cloak, late mutas to start harassing/killing medivacs and late baneling speeds which can make holding the 4th sometimes harder than it usually is.
-all of it also highly limits your offensive abilities, you simply can't attack terran before 11 minute mark effectively
=======================
To sum it up, Snute's 1 gas ZvT:
-allows you to safely reach mid-game
-provides good creep spread
-provides good economy
-delays your technology significantly
VODs of Snute using this playstyle vs Fantasy and Cure:
http://www.twitch.tv/esl_sc2/b/629161818
http://www.twitch.tv/esl_sc2/b/629304262
http://www.twitch.tv/esl_sc2/b/629307399
thank you for reading and TL strategy plz make Zerg guides T___T
